Twins

Telling Dreams

The summer sun sent sunbeams dancing across the lake. The palace garden was rich with the sweet scents of mint and cherry blossoms. The grass was soft and warm. HyunWoo was asleep in the grass, dreaming of far off plains filled with the thundering of horse hooves and the battle cries of his father's men. He dreamed that he was dressed in a general's armor and that he rode beside the massive form of his father. There was an army cresting the hill to their right and they turned like a flock of birds to rise up and meet army reached the top of the grassy hill and rushed forward. His father had a look of glee in his eyes as he looked at HyunWoo. He grinned back at his father and raised his sword above his head to signal their ascent. They would ride to meet this enemy and they would be victorious.

A gust of wind rushed past him and he was swept up into a whirlwind horse and all. He was suspended what felt like miles above the ground and watched as a black horse rode up to the place his father was. On the horse was a man who looked just like him wearing black armor. His father smiled at the man and let him lead the charge. The man's face was filled with strength and determination as the pair led the army to meet their enemy. As they rode HyunWoo struggled to get back down to the ground, to take his rightful place, but they were already far from him. Just as they were out of sight he felt himself dropping from the sky and towards the ground. He reached out frantically to stop himself from falling and his fingers gripped the grass under his sleeping body.

HyunWoo's eyes opened wide and he sat up. The air around him was warm but his skin felt cold and clammy. He shivered and pulled his cloak tighter about him. Beside him his drawings rustled in the breeze. He removed the rock he had used as a paperweight and gathered them together. The pages were filled with the glories of battle and the approving look of his father's gaze. Two sights he would likely never see.

In his dreams he was a brilliant warrior who had many victories under his belt. He was the muscular swordsman who would color legends and sweep ladies off of their feet. Reality was quite disappointing in comparison.

Thanks to his poor health he had never traveled much farther than the walls of the palace. He was occasionally well enough to venture out to the open air markets if he were accompanied by more guards and noble men than he could count. As he tied the string on the leather satchel that held his art he remembered once more that he would forever be longing for a life much different than the one he had.

The afternoon sun was growing old and orange and he knew that there would be servants frantically searching the palace for him so that he could have dinner with his mother. It was a calm event, but one he very much liked. More and more he had missed it lately. He found himself longing to be alone more often than ever as news of his father's conquests spread with great excitement across the land. It was even harder to bear knowing that his older cousins were being trained to head out into the battle themselves while he spent his days drawing pictures and studying.

With all the grace bestowed onto the crown prince of Gyeo Wool Dal he went to his mother's chamber with a smile on his face, despite the ache in his heart.

"HyunWoo, you're very late again today. What were you doing? Baek said that he couldn't find you anywhere." The queen of Gyeo Wool Dal, HyeJi as she was known to a few, was a beautiful woman with a youthful smile despite her wrinkles. She was also his mother and the one person in the world that understood him and his thoughts.

HyunWoo sat at the table across from his mother and put his satchel of drawings to the side. There were no eyes that would see what his heart longed for. Besides, it would make his mother feel bad. She always blamed herself for his poor health, saying that if she had just gotten him out of the fire and smoke sooner he wouldn't have had to suffer like this.